(In theaters and on Netflix.) With a filmography that includes titles like Children of Men and Gravity (to say nothing of his earlier works), Alfonso Cuarón has established himself as an inarguably masterful filmmaker; a craftsman of cinematic experiences that typically garner acclaim (and a few...

There were two excellent Spider-Man movies in the early 2000s, followed by a mediocre one, a mediocre reboot, and a mediocre sequel to that reboot. Last year's reboot, Spider-Man: Homecoming, balanced the scales -- three great, three not -- and our adhesive friend's reputation is fully restored...

Clint Eastwood's 37th directorial effort, The Mule, has all the hallmarks of an Eastwood enterprise -- unfussy direction, efficient but unhurried, moderately entertaining but nothing special -- and is, like most of his work this century, loosely based on a true story. I say "loosely" because unlike...

With Peter Jackson serving as executive producer, Mortal Engines should feel like more of an event — one with beautifully realized visual effects and the sort of high-fantasy spectacle we’ve come to expect from the filmmaker behind The Lord of the Rings. But the dystopian YA adaptation (a...

Based on a 1990 novel by Richard Ford, Wildlife has a literary feel to it and comes across as a well-acted, well-produced drama for adults. Its protagonist is a kid, though: 14-year-old Joe Brinson (Ed Oxenbould), an only child who's witnessing the unraveling of his family in Montana in...

Prolific Chilean filmmaker Sebastian Silva had five movies play at Sundance before Tyrel premiered there, including two in the same year (Magic Magic and Crystal Fairy and the Magical Cactus, 2013). He introduced a screening of Tyrel, which is about race relations, by saying, "It's a movie that...

You wouldn't want to make them the staple of your cinematic diet, but movies where the main characters are all corrupt or vain are often satisfying because they let us enjoy the audacity of bad behavior without suffering the consequences of it. Never is that more true than when the people in...

It's a family affair in Clara's Ghost, written and directed by — am I reading this right? — “Bridey” Elliott? That seems like a typo. She’s the daughter of Chris Elliott and sister of Abby Elliott. Mom is Paula Niedert Elliott, who was a Late Night with David Letterman staffer when...

Racism is solved one moron at a time in Green Book, a lighthearted, vaguely true story set in 1962, with bigoted Bronx-Italian meathead Tony "Lip" Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen) hired as chauffeur and bodyguard for refined black concert pianist Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) as he tours the racist...

Hannah Grace is already possessed when The Possession of Hannah Grace begins, and she dies during a botched exorcism before the opening credits roll. The movie isn't about her anyway: It's about Megan Reed (Shay Mitchell), a young ex-cop haunted by a mistake she made that got her partner killed,...

Anna and the Apocalypse is a Scottish zombie high school musical comedy set at Christmastime. Does it fulfill every magical possibility of that delicious combination of themes? No, but let’s be reasonable. It’s a remarkably self-assured and polished second feature by director John McPhail...

Suspiria, from Call Me by Your Name director Luca Guadagnino, is a remake of a 1977 cult favorite by Italian horrormeister Dario Argento -- but don't feel bad if that means nothing to you. Argento, a legend in horror circles for his genre-defining work in giallo films, never had mainstream name...

The financial and artistic success of Creed, a Rocky sequel that was thoughtful and character-driven in a way that most Rocky sequels aren't, inspired optimism that subsequent chapters would follow suit. At the center was a dynamic new character, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan), son of Apollo...

Instant Family may not be the most wonderful movie of the year, but it's certainly the most surprisingly wonderful. Inspired by a true story, the premise threatens a sappy, manipulative Hallmark movie: White childless couple Pete (Mark Wahlberg) and Ellie (Rose Byrne) decide to take in a foster kid...

Ralph Breaks the Internet is a bit of a misnomer. The eponymous hero doesn’t actually “break” the internet (and certainly not in the way a Kardashian might), and the long-awaited sequel to 2012’s Wreck-It Ralph isn’t necessarily about the internet, per se. What it is about is friendship...